Thursday, 30 December 2010

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found it impossible to put down and really wanted to know what happened next. The action moves from country to country in the build-up to the 1/1 New Year terrorist tragedies. With thousands dead at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists, the UK government has no answers. We watch as the Islamic fanatics plot more terror. It is time for a new party, a radical party, the Independents, led by Francis Raike, who promises Draconian laws to deal with those bringing terror to the land.

With its new laws, from the annulment of the Human Rights Act, the split from the EU, the reintroduction of the death penalty and the repatriation of disaffected immigrants, Francis Raike and his team are gradually getting to grips with a country in turmoil.

But then the terrorists pose a new and more terrible threat that will devastate a large part of the country. Can the government catch the perpetrators before it’s too late?

I found this a fast-moving, up-to-the-minute, thriller that posed questions asked by many of us. This is a novel that deals realistically – if frighteningly – with an all-too-modern problem. I enjoyed it very much and heartily recommend it.

Here's the trailer I made for my latest ebook, Dead Before Morning, the very first crime novel in my fourteen-strong Rafferty & Llewellyn series. It is available on kindle, iPad, iPhone, nook, sobo, android, iBookstore, etc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo-BPA8GByM

David won a short story contest in a magazine who printed his name & address. I read the magazine and realised we lived 3 miles apart...Our division of labour is as follows:

A Writing Team.

David and Jack have been writing

t

together for more years than they can

remember. It started with a book with

the working title of Chunnel BC, a

humorous tale of the Romans planning

a tunnel beneath the English Channel

because Julius Caesar got seasick

outside of the Mediterranean. It never

even made it to the publisher but, as a

first attempt, it was good fun and cemented

a friendship which has lasted longer than

three Prime Ministers.

In the years since then, they have continued the historical theme with a serious novel concerning the disappearance of the Roman Ninth Legion in Britain, a medieval mystery and a WWII story. There have also been fantasy and science fiction novels – built on a shared admiration of Jack Vance’s work. A political thriller – 1/1:Jihad-Britainthe most recent. Work in progress includes a historical fantasy and a modern-day crime/mystery novel.

All of these novels have been written as a team. After their first co-operation- which consisted of writing a chapter each during which they attempted to leave the hero in such a diabolical dilemma that much head-scratching ensued- things changed. The writing model is now one

of repeated layers. Typically, after

discussing the main sweep of the plot

for a new book, Jack will begin writing

and pass a week’s work on to David who

rewrites it, checking facts in some cases,

questioning flights of fancy in others and

adding 10% to 20% new material. Once

the initial draft is completed, it goes back

to Jack, back again to David, a process

repeated until both are satisfied and at

each stage, material is added or changed,

phrasing is amended.The model varies, of course, the main input may come from one or the other but one rule remains paramount: if either of the team dislikes something, it gets pulled. It works for them. In this case, two people writing together generates far more than twice as much fun.

Your latest novel1/1:Jihad - Britainsounds interesting.Can you please tell us what prompted you to write the book. I'm assuming it was 9/11 and 7/7, but were there other spurs, too?

Firstly the media seemed to be full of it, terrorism seemed to be taking place on a global scale but it was becoming accepted as the norm. We asked the question - how big does an act of terrorism have to be before it makes people sit and take notice? Perhaps take united action.

What do you do to promote your books?

We ask Geraldine Evans to carry an article on her blog! Ha, Ha. And we put it on Facebook and Twitter and a video on Youtube

and Trailer Spy... (sorry, just panting) and we ask anyone that liked it if they would care to review it on Amazon.

Do you have a favourite book? If so, which is it?

Jack's favourite: anything by Jack Vance.

David's favourite:Tales of the Dying Earth by

Jack Vance. This writer, now sadly retired due toblindness, writes like poetry and you get as fond of the anti-hero as you do of the hero.

Why did you decide to write in several genres (Young adult fantasy, adult fantasy, historical, science fiction and thrillers)?

We are always trying to find what goes down best with the readers - the jury is still out. Also you never get fed up with your characters because they are always fresh and new.

David - see favourite books. If I'd been able to write that, I'd have mastered prose as poetry and the art of making you smile while I did it.

A lot of authors seem to start out as short story writers -did you? And if so, what kind of stories have you written?

Jack: Novel length all the way I never seem capable of telling a story in less than 60,000 words and even then I prefer 100,000+.

David: I have a selection of shorts still awaiting recognition, I think I've had about 4 published in my lifetime so I guess they're not all that good.

Tell us about your typical writing day.

Jack: I am an early riser and like nothing more than to get a thousand words down before 7-30, after breakfast I can write until lunch but I leave the afternoons mainly for chores.

David: My wife gets up and goes to work, for me - breakfast at crack of 9am, fire up the laptop and get creative with the keyboard, write-up some of Jack's work, re-write his or mine and that takes me through to making dinner for the Missus. Maybe a little more after dinner if the muse is still active. There are those other days too, for both of us, writing pieces for the promotion web-sites, following blogs and and keeping the personal web-sites up to date.

What are you working on now? Or is it a case of having to promote your

Jihad book and not having time to write at present?

Jack's doing the heavy promotion along with finishing off a crime

thriller involving MI5, MI6 and an ex employee and David's been

working on the final version of an historic fantasy... watch out for the title:Postponing Armageddon

Welcome!

About Me

I am a British author. Originally a Londoner, in 2000 I moved to Norfolk, England with my husband, George. I write crime novels and have two humorous series on the go: Rafferty and Llewellyn, which features DI Joe Rafferty, Ma Rafferty, Father Kelly et al. And Casey and Catt, which feature DCI Will (Willow Tree) Casey and his parents, the'Sixties never died' hippies, Moon and Star. My books are also published as ebooks and are on kindle, iPad, iPhone, iBookstore, nook, sobo, android, smashwords, etc. My novels:
Kith and Kill, Deadly Reunion, All the Lonely People, Death Dance, Death Dues, A Thrust to the Vitals, Blood on the Bones, Love Lies Bleeding, Bad Blood, Dying For You, Absolute Poison, The Hanging Tree, Death Line, Down Among the Dead Men, Dead Before Morning, A Killing Karma, Up in Flames, Reluctant Queen, Land of Dreams.